Age assurance

An aerial view of a child using a laptop.

US age verification laws for online platforms

From buying goods online to accessing crucial services, there are countless advantages to an increasingly digital world. But with this development comes the serious challenge of ensuring that users can safely navigate online environments. As young people are able to access the internet more easily than ever, it’s important to make sure that their online journeys are age-appropriate. According to a national survey, the average age at which children in the US first see pornography is 12, with 15% first seeing online pornography at age 10 or younger. In response to the evolving digital landscape, regulation is making strides to

8 min read
Image of a young boy using his laptop. The accompanying text reads "Age Appropriate Design Code - United Kingdom".

The Age Appropriate Design Code for businesses

This blog was updated in February 2024, following the ICO’s  updated opinion on age assurance for the Children’s Code. In a nutshell the main changes include:  Facial age estimation is now recognised as the most widely used age estimation approach, with high levels of accuracy.  Self-declaration on its own is not sufficient for high-risk services. The ICO has also introduced a new term, the ‘waterfall technique’. This refers to a combination of age assurance methods.  Companies should ensure that any age assurance system implemented has an appropriate level of technical accuracy, reliability and robustness, whilst operating in a fair way

13 min read
Image of a young girl smiling and looking at a mobile phone. The accompanying text reads "Digital Services Act - European Union".

Understanding verification requirements in the new Digital Services Act

The EU’s new Digital Services Act (DSA) will apply from the 17th February this year. Originally only applicable to ‘very large online platforms’ (VLOPs) and ‘very large online search engines’ (VLOSEs) with over 45 million monthly users, it will eventually be expanded to cover all online intermediaries and platforms that offer their services to users based in the EU. These include online marketplaces, social networks, adult content companies, content sharing platforms, app stores, and online travel and accommodation platforms.  To comply with certain parts of the Act, platforms will need to have effective verification of business users and support age-appropriate

9 min read
Woman estimating age on Yoti's technology which has antispoofing and injection attack protection

The importance of anti-spoofing for facial age estimation

It has been claimed that facial age estimation technology can be easily spoofed. The proliferation of news on generative AI and deepfakes has added to the conversation, and there is doubt and concern over the security of online safety systems. Suffice to say, we’ve thought of that. We have developed a suite of anti-spoofing tools to ensure your check is real, valid and accurate. Our experience working with organisations to implement age verification has enabled us to identify and cover risks and vulnerabilities. When we perform an age estimation check, we are actually performing a number of security checks simultaneously.

3 min read
An illustration of a face being marked as "over 18". The accompanying text says "Exploring social purpose: Age assurance".

Addressing social challenges: How age assurance can help solve everyday problems

Everything we do at Yoti is with our social purpose in mind. From developing our products to driving regulatory change, we’re always thinking about the challenges we can help solve. This series looks at how our products could meaningfully benefit individual people and wider society. This article focuses on our age assurance solutions, which include facial age estimation, reusable Digital IDs and age verification with a document.   Ensure children only access age-appropriate content online It is becoming increasingly easy for young people to access the internet. Therefore it’s vital that young people can only access age-appropriate content. Unfortunately, many

8 min read
Preview image of Yoti's Facial Age Estimation fact sheet which will help users learn more about what facial age estimation does and does not do

Facial age estimation: the facts

We developed facial age estimation to give everyone a secure and private way to prove their age, without sharing their name or any identity documents. We also wanted to address the inclusion issue, given not everyone has an ID – which can exclude them from accessing age-restricted goods, services and experiences.  The technology can determine a person’s age from a facial image. We believe this is a better way to check someone’s age. People shouldn’t have to share their whole identity just to prove their age.  We work hard to explain facial age estimation and how it works. Unfortunately, some

1 min read